WASHINGTON, January 26, 2010 – The Agriculture Department’s Rural Utilities Service is doling out $310 million in broadband stimulus funds, department Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Monday.

The monies will be spread throughout 14 projects seeking to bring speedy Internet connections to rural communities in the United States in an effort to lift and grow their economies.

“The awards for these broadband projects will support anchor institutions – such as libraries, public buildings and community centers – that are necessary for the viability of rural communities,” Vilsack said.

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., drew attention this week to her home state’s broadband mapping project that will be funded by money Congress allocated in January to encourage broadband deployment and use. The Louisiana Division of Administration, Office of Information Technology, has been awarded approximately $1.7 million for broadband mapping and planning projects.

WASHINGTON, November 30, 2009 – The U.S. government announced Monday that it has awarded millions of dollars to five state entities and one nonprofit organization – Connected Nation – that proposed projects to help collect better data on broadband availability across the country.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the government agency responsible for taking the lead on broadband data as part of the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus program, announced funding for broadband mapping and planning activities in Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, Louisiana, and Missouri.

SILVER SPRING, Md., April 1, 2009 – Panelists speaking at the Freedom to Connect conference here on Tuesday hopefully urged the possibility that electrical “smart grids” could bring utilities into competition with incumbent telecommunications companies.